Handle for journal box packing



May 29, 1956 R. J. HARKENRIDER HANDLE FOR JOURNAL BOX PACKING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 50, 1953 INVENTOR. fffliwfgg M gj-z w alfil May 29, 1956 R. J. HARKENRIDER HANDLE FOR JOURNAL BOX PACKING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 50, 1953 K w W.

United States Patent 2,741,952 HANDLE FOR JOURNAL BOX PACKING Robert J. Harkenrider, Winona, Minn., assignor to Rudolph W. Miller and Benjamin A. Miller, Winona, Minn.

Application March 30, 1953, Serial No. 345,552

1 Claim. (Cl. 308-243) My invention relates to journal lubricators and more particularly to a resilient type lubricator or packing which positively insures a supply of lubricating oil to the joinnals of railway vehicles or the like.

In the operation of vehicles such as railway cars, it is highly important to maintain a source of positive lubrication for the journals of these vehicles. .In the conventional railway freight car the journal extends into a journal box having an oil reservoir which is packed with waste. Lubricating oil is poured into the bottom of the journal box which acts as an oil reservoir and this oil through capillary action in the waste is supplied to the journals. After a period of movement of the car, the waste frequently becomes packed on the bottom of the journal box spaced somewhat from the journal and the journal ceases to be lubricated. Continued movement of the car without lubrication results in the generation of great friction and heat and causes hot boxes which seriously interfere with railroad operation.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a journal lubricator for use in a conventional journal box and which lubricator insures adequate lubrication of the journal.

Another object of my invention is to provide a lubricator which will urge oiled waste into communication with the cylindrical surface of the journal.

Another object of my invention is to provide a lubricator which is adapted to be used with new journals as well as with journals which have been subjected to varying degrees of wear.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a journal lubricator of a unit type which may be readily installed and removed from the journal box.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide an improved handle for journal box packings.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a lubricator with a plurality of lubricating surfaces which may be alternatively used to lubricate the journals.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following description and drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section taken through a conventional journal box showing my new lubricator in position;

Figure 2 is a cross section taken along the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of my new lubricator removed from its ordinary position in the journal box;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the strap, handle and resilient compressible core of the lubricator;

Figure 5 is a cross section of the waste blanket as it appears before being positioned around the compressible core; and

Figure 6 is an end elevational view of a modification of the resilient core employed in my invention, constructed in such a way as to permit the use of either side of the waste blanket for journal lubrication.

In the drawings, 10 represents a conventional journal box having side walls 12 and a generally concave bottom wall 14. Projecting into the journal box through an opening in the rear thereof is a journal 16 having an end flange 18. This journal is adapted to support a freight car and load by means of conventional journal bearings (not shown) riding on the upper surface of the journal.

My lubricator generally comprises a resilient core 20, a strap 22, a looped handle 23, and an outer waste blanket 24. The core 20 may be made of any type of resilient material having a high compression ratio such as compressible hair pads impregnated with rubber or synthetic resilient bonding materials such as neoprene. I have found that hair pads of pig brisle resiliently bonded together with neoprene provide a satisfactory compressible core. The core 20 is molded or cut in a generally crescent shape but with the ends rounded. The are of the journal side of the resilient core substantially conforms to the cylindrical surface of the journal. The core 20 is adapted to be compressed-in use and tends to resume its original shape.

Positioned around the resilient core is a strap 22 which may be made of any suitable material but is preferably made of a single piece of heavy canvas, the ends of which may be overlapped and sewn together at the rear of the core. The canvas piece is then placed around the top and bottom and ends of the core and the two sides of the loop are then fastened together at the front adjacent the front end of the core by means of suitable fastening means such as a row of stitching 26 to provide a looped handle 23. This handle is useful in transporting the lubricators and in the removal of the lubricators from the journal boxes.

The waste blanket 24 is cut of a length suflicient to be wrapped around the core 20 without having the ends overlapped and the ends of the blanket may be secured together by stitching or other suitable means. The blanket is of a width slightly greater than the length of the core which it envelops, providing a slight overlap at each end of the lubricator, as seen in Fig. 2. The blanket 24 consists of a top covering 30 of wool or other conventional waste material secured to a backing 32 of cheesecloth or like open-mesh thin material. The waste material is secured to the cheesecloth by a needling method, such as that described in Shaw Patent No. 2,672,674, in which a multiplicity of strands of the waste material are pulled through the cheesecloth to form a bond suiiiciently strong to prevent the waste material from being readily removed from the cheesecloth in lubrication operations. Two of these blankets may be fastened together with the cheesecloth backings facing each other presenting a blanket having upper and lower sides of waste material. The two sections of the blanket may be fastened together by any suitable means such as stitching and the blanket may likewise be secured to the resilient core or to the strap 20 by means of stitching. The blanket 24 having little inherent stifiness will, when applied to the core, mold itself to the core and assume the shape thereof.

The lubricator with the resilient core 20 and the waste blanket 24 is generally in thickness of a size greater than the distance between the journal and the bottom curved portion of the journal box. Upon insertion of the lubricator it is necessary to compress the resilient core and enveloping blanket and slide it into place between the journal and the bottom of the journal box. The compressed core by virtue of its inherent resiliency tends to resume its original shape and forces the waste blanket against the under surface of the journal. When lubricating oil is applied to the journal box oil reservoir, the oil will be transmitted to the upper or lubricating surface of the waste blanket through capillary action. Since this upper surface of the waste blanket is being pressed by the resilient core into contact with the journal, a positive source of lubricating oil is in constant contact with the journal.

In the continued operation of railway vehicles such as freight cars, the journals are subjected to much wear, particularly where lubrication has not been adequate. Because the thickness of the lubricator is greater than the distance between the journal and the bottom of the journal box, my improved lubricator because of its inherent resiliency will compensate for diiferences in journal diameter resulting from wear and will insure a positive source of lubrication to such worn journals.

If it becomes necessary for inspection purposes or otherwise to remove the lubricator, such removal may be accomplished readily through the use of the handle 23, which may be grasped to slide the lubricator from under the journal and out through the conventional journal box door.

The lubricator as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 is of general crescent shape with the rounded ends presenting an are generally conforming with the surface of the journal lubricator. The resilient core, being compressed into position between the curved bottom of the journal box and the under surface of the journal, tends to force the upper surface of the Waste blanket against the journal at all points in the arc of the core, thus providing a relatively large surface lubricating area.

In Figure 6, I have shown a compressible lubricator core which is generally of an elliptical shape having the greater mass of resilient material along a center line of the core. This core is adapted to receive an enveloping blanket and the ends of the core are sufiiciently resilient to permit the flexing of these ends upwardly or downwardly. A lubricator with the core of Figure 6 is assembled in the same manner as that shown in Figures 1 to 5. When it is desired to insert the lubricator with the core of Figure 6, it is merely necessary to fiex the ends up slightly and insert the core in place in the position shown in Figure 1. The waste material on the upper surface of the blanket will be forced against the journal for lubrication purposes.

The long continued operation of a journal against this upper surface of the waste blanket may adversely affect this lubricating surface of the blanket, providing less adequate lubrication. In such circumstances, the lubricator may be readily removed by the handle, the lubricator may then be turned over, the ends flexed in an opposite direction, and the lubricator again inserted. After these operations it is apparent that the used surface of the blanket will be facing downwardly in the journal box and the hitherto unused waste surface of the blanket will be in its uppermost position in contact with the journal. With this construction, it is apparent that I have provided a readily reversible lubricator with a resilient core, and the reversible characteristics of the lubricator will extend the useful life of the lubricator for a greater length of time.

It is to be understood that in the above description and in the drawings attached hereto I have illustrated merely a preferred embodiment of my invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details described herein but wish to avail myself of all embodiments which may come within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a journal box lubricator including a flexible envelope looped about a resilient core, the improvement comprising a one-piece strap having its ends overlapped and secured together to form a loop, said strap being looped about the core between the core and the envelope and extending lengthwise of the lubricator, said overlapped ends of said strap abutting one end of the core and having the two sides of the loop secured together closely adjacent the other end of the core to form a second loop, said second loop extending outwardly of the envelope and providing a handle for the lubricator.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 91,000 Devlan June 8, 1869 258,045 Flynt May 16, 1882 277,494 Lindsay May 15, 1883 2,138,971 Keeler Dec. 6, 1938 2,264,250 Shoemaker Nov. 25, 1941 OTHER REFERENCES Perfect Journal Lubrication published by Lubrication Products Co., June 1, 1937. 

